Diamonds from fallen meteorite hint to a lost planet?

New Delhi : Diamonds found inside a fallen meteorite, have hinted at the existence of a lost planet, according to a new research.

The study conducted by a team of researchers, particles found from a meteorite that entered the Earth's atmosphere about a decade ago, has provided compelling evidence that a lost planet used to roam around our solar system.

The team of researchers from France, Germany, and Switzerland examined the diamond particles, extracted from the Almahata Sitta meteorite and concluded that they were most like formed by a proto-planet, around 4.55 billion years ago.

The meteorite which crashed in the Nubian Desert in Sudan in October 2008 is reported to be full of tiny crystals. According to the study co-author, Philippe Gillet, these crystals would have required great pressure to form.

Gillete further said that these findings suggest a mystery planet somewhere between the sizes of Mercury and Mars.

"We are probably looking at an object that was one of the first planets to circle the sun before they collided with each other to create the actual planets we have today," said Gillet.

The study appeared in the journal Nature Communications.